Lifting-jack



w. B. TEMPLETON.

LIFTING JACK APPLICATION FILED JAN.17. 191s.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

w. B. TEMPLETON;

LIFTING JACK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.17,I918.

1,328,306, Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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LIFIING JACK. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11 1918.

1 ,328,306, Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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ZUZZ/Zess- WALTER B. TEMPLETON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LIFTING-JACK.

Specification-of Letters iatent. Patented J an. 20, 1920.

Application filed January 17, 1918. Serial No. 212,165.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VALTER B. TEMPLE- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in thegcounty of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lifting-Jacks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lifting jacks of the double-acting type, more particularly intended for automobile use, in which the pivotally journa-led actuating or operating lever causes two-alternately acting pawls to directly engage a ratchet on a lifting bar to raise or lower the bar at each upward and at each downward swin of the lever, the direction of jinovement 0 the bar being conditional upon the position of the pawls to each other, to the ratchet bar, and to certain pawl-actuating devices, the action of which can readily be reversed. The particular object ofIst-he present invention is to provide a compact and very simple disposition-of a pawl-actuating link similar to the one described and claimed in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,025,218, by connecting the operating ends of the link to the two pawls in such a manner that merely changing the position of one of the link members along the side of one of the pawls will suffice to reverse the direction of movement of the lifting bar. This construction enables the pawl-actuating means and their controlling or directing means to be reduced to a minimum number of parts, with a corresponding reduction of the chances of the jacks operating mechanism being broken or getting out of order. and, again, a correspondin increase in the .facility and economy of manufacture. Furthermore, the construction enables thecasing to be very materially reduced in width, breadth and the height of the upper portion, which is of particular importance in the special service for which this jack is designed. A novel and useful feature is the provision of resilient means for reventing the upper pawl from being pulled so far away from the ratchet by excessive downward pull of the operating lever on which it is pivoted, that it will not "reenter into engagement with the ratchet on the upward swing of the lever, and an adaptation of the same resilient means for preventing the unintentional pulling of the pawl-actuating link out of its positionm'hen at the upper end of its travel or swing.

sliding members of the link lubricated, and

other minor features that will appear inthe following description.

These objects I obtain by the novelde= vices, constructions and dispositions of parts described hereinbelow and illustrated on the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation offlmy improved jack with a part of the side plate of the casing cut away to show the internal" mechanism, with the pawls and the pawlfictuating link set for raising the ratchet ar; v

Fig. 2, a rear elevation ofthe jack shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the rear plate of the casing being cut away;

. Fig. 3, an elevation similar to F ig'. 1, the link and pawls being set in the reversed position, for lowering the ratchet bar when the actuating lever is swung up or down;

Fig. 4:, a front elevation of my new jack, illustrating the details of the multi-seated carrier frame for the lifting toe;

Fig. 5, a perspective detail view of the pawl-actuating link, showing the lubricant receptacle Figs. 6., 7, 8 and 9 are detail views of various modifications of the curved guiding means or cam-way attached to the upper pawl and operatively connected with one of the members of the pawl-actuating link articulated to the smaller, inner and lower pawl;

Fig. 7 is an inner faceview of Fig. 8 with,

the link omitted; and.

. Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail showing the elements of the pawl-setting-and-actuating mechanism of Figs. 1 and 3 applied in inverted order, the cam-way being attached to the inner and lower pawl, and the other link member being articulated to the outer and upper pawl.

,A casing 2 of suitable metal, preferably cast iron, risin vertically and centrally from an ample 15188 3', integral therewith, incloses practically all of the operating mechanism excepting the cam-plate and its pawl-setting handle, and the operating lever. The handle-socket 4 of the latter is provided with integral, laterally projecting. solid trunnions 5, 5 (Fig. 2) by means of of the front face or wall of the casing.

which it is fulcrumed in bearing elements 6, 6, precisely like the bearing elementsthat form the subject of invention of U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,109,851, to Joseph Malicki.

A liftin bar 9, guided vertically in casing 2. is PIOVlt ed at its upper end with a shoulder 10 from the center of which projects integrally and vertically a lug or stud 11. A carrier bar 12 has at its upper end an integral arm 13 projecting rearwardly and at right angles to said bar and resting on shoulder 10, to which itis firmly secured by riveting over the end of stud 11 after it has been engaged by a. central aperture in the arm 13. The upper face of arm 13 is formed into a concave seat 13 adapted to engage the aXle of an automobile, and this arm constitutes the actual working head of the jack. At its lower end the carrier bar is firmly fastened to the lifting bar by a lug or stud 14, projecting integrally and at right angles to the foot of bar 12 through a transverse aperture in the foot of the lifting bar, the end of the lug being riveted over on the other side of the lifting bar. The disposition and proportion of the parts 13 and 14 is such that the rear face of the carrier bar is parallel with the lifting bar and stands" at a very short distance forward A vertical slot or channel 14*, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4:, is providedcentrally in the front wall of casing 2 to give an opening and provide guiding surfaces for the lower end of the carrier bar as it travels up and down with the lifting bar: A lifting toe designated as a whole by reference numeral 15, and substantially of a triangular vertical section, has its upward, load-carrying face 16 sloping slightly upward from its rear end forward. From the upper inner corners of the sides of the lifting toe, like, parallel ears 17 project integrally upward with a slight inclination to the rear. Near the upper end of each ear a cylindrical lug or trunnion 18 projects inwardly from its inner side, the two lugs being alined and pointing in opposite directions. At its lower corner, which is slightly forward of the vertical plane passing through the axes of lugs 18, the lifting toe has a rounded edge 19 forming a bearing surface. The carrier bar 12 consists of a middle web portion 12' having at its rear edge a straight vertical rib portion 12 and at its forward edge a curved rib portion, the horizontal cross section at any point of the carrier bar being substantially the same as that of a T-beam. The forward curved rib portion is formed on its rear face on each side of the web 12 with a series of seats 20 adapted to hingingly support the trunnions 18 which may be moved from any pair of these seats to a pair above 01' below by being pushed back each end of the members 25 and 26.

into the channel 12- between the vertical rib 12 and the rearward straight extensions 20 of the curved rib that lie between the successiveseats 20, and being pushed up or down along the channel 12 until they reach a point opposite the pair of seats from which the lifting toe is to be suspended, when pulling the toe forward will cause the trunnion to engage that desired pair of seats. The front face of the curved rib is formed into a series of like corrugations disposed so. that the concave corrugations 21 come opposite to the straight extensions 20 and the approximately straight portions 21 intervening between successive concave portions 21 come opposite the seats 20. The lower portion of each concave corrugation 21 is made approximately horizontal so as to form a suitable supporting surface for receiving the inward and downward thrust of the lower edge 19 of the lifting toe. In assembling the jack the open lower end of channel 12 may be closed after the trun nions 18 have been slipped into said channel, by bending over a locking piece 22 that has been left projecting integrally and at right angles with the straight rib 12 The rear face of the lifting bar 9 is formed into a ratchet bar the teeth 23 of which are alternately engaged by pawls 7 and 8, the pintles 7 and 8 of which engage seats on opposite sides of the fulcrum of the socket piece 4, that part of the construction being old and forming no part 'of the present invention. A pawl-actuating link designated, as a whole. by the reference numeral 24, and similar in general construction to the pawl-actuating link disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent No.

1,025,218, has its members connected to the one and the other of the pawls 7 and 8 respectively. The link 24 has an outer member 25 (see Fig. 5), preferably of semi-cylindrical cross section. with a plane sliding face 25 adapted to slide over and also to 'slidingly support a similar face 26 on the inner link member 26 of substantially the same outer construction and dimensions as the outer member 25. bers are inter-connected and guided on each other by a pair of parallel ribs 27, 27 projecting integrallyfrom face 25 and fitting within a longitudinal groove of rectangular cross section, cut or cast into face 26*, and a groove 28, formed between ribs 27. 27 is .closed by the bottom .of slot in member 26.

forming a receptacle which may be filled with lubricating oil or a suitable grease such as Albany grease. For this purpose one end of the groove 28 is left open and the other is closed by an inward extension of a shoulder 29, one of which is raised at A spiral spring 30 coiled around the two members of the link after they have been placed These two memface to face, having its ends abutting against said shoulders 29, serves to hold them together transversely, and at the same time to urge the members to slide inwardly and outwardly on one another longitudinally, according to whether the members have been pulled apart or pushed together. An ear 31 integral with the inner member 26, is offset from said afmember and extends for a short distance beyond member 26 in a direction parallel to the axis of the cylinder formed by the two link members. A lug 32, projecting forward and outward from the outer side of pawl 7 and integral therewith, carries a pivot pin or stem 33, the axis of which is at right angles to said side of pawl 7, and forward of its front edge, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. A bearing aperture near the outer end of ear 31 engages the pin 33, the head of which is then preferably riveted over, there being thus formed an articulated connection between the inner link member 26 and the inner and lower pawl 7. A similarly ofl'set integral extension 34 projects from and parallel with the extension of the outer link member 25, forming a finger. A stud projects rectangularly from the outer face of this finger 34. A curved-cam plate 36 (Figs. 1 and 2), is rigidly secured to integral lugs on the pawl 8 as by studs 37 and 37 these studs having shoulders on which the cam plate rests at a short distance from and parallel with one side of the pawl 8. A cam slot 38, cut in cam plate 36, is curved away from the pivot pin 33 which is approximately a geometrical center of the cam slot considered as approximate to an arc of a circle. But this characterization.

is not mechanically accurate because the cam slot is'not an arc of a true circle having its radius in the axis of pin 33, for while the curve 38 does approximately coincide with an arc of a circle struck from the center of the face of pin 33- this is true only and the position of its geometrical center.

must change with each tilting. Considering lever 4 and stud 35 in their respective lowest positions of oscillation, as shown in Fig. 1, with pivot 8 as far down and to the rear as it can get and pivot 7 as far up and forward as it can get, and-both pawls in engagement with the ratchet-bar, as lever 4 is swung upward pawl 8 pushes up the ratchet bar and remains in engagement with teeth 23. While the pivot of the outer pawl moves from 8 to 8 its translation forward is measured by the abscissa (1 between ordinates from the two positions 8 and 8". Comparing this with the very much smaller horizontal transla- -compression.

tion I) of the pivot of pawl 7 from 7 to 7, it is clear that in the first part ofthe movement, while the lever swings from the dot and dash line O D to the horizontal, the lower pawl descends and its heel moves slightly forward, its nose remaining in engagement with the teeth. As the lever moves upward from the horizontal the heel of pawl '2'v is translated downward and to the rear. This pushes the link-member 26 rearward, while at the same time the forward translation of the heel or pivot of pawl 8 pushes the link-member 25 forward. Thus spring 30 and link 24 are thus put in But as the nose of paw-1'8 is held in engagement by a ratchet tooth the stud 35 becomes momentarily the center of motion of v pawl 7, the nose of which is pulled downward out of engagement with the ratchet bar, but is all the time being pushed or urged strongly forward by link 24. Hence, as soon as its nose clears the tooth it was engaged with at the commencement of the up-swing of lever 4, the pawl springs into engagement with the next tooth below. By this time the lever has completed its upward swing and commences to go down. Now pintle 8*, translated -to the rear as the pivot of pawl 8, moves rearward through distance a, pulls out the link-member'25, while the forward translation of the pintle 7 through distance I), pulls the link member 26 forward. The two oppositely pulled link members put spring 30 111 compression and the link 24 in tension, so that as soon as the nose of pawl 8 is pulled downward far enough to clear the tooth it was engaged with, it is pulled into engagement with the next lower tooth by link 24, acting from pin 33 as the instantaneous, fixed center of motion. By this" time the downward swing of lever 4 has been completed.

If now the finger 34 is moved upward by its handle or grip 34*, extending integrally from it beyond cam-plate 36 and suitably bent for ready grasping, carrying stud 35 to the upper end'of cam-slot 38, as shown inFig, 3, the nose of pawl 8 is pushed rearward out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 23, because ,in that position of the two pawls the distance between the axis of pin 33 and the outer edge of the upper part of cam-slot 38 is materially less than the dis: tance between the axis of pin 33 and the corresponding part of the lower end of slot 38, the arc of the circle having been tilted so that its instantaneous geometrical center is now above and to the rear of its position in Fig. 1 which produces a very marked rearward push on pawl 8 and a slight forward push on pawl 7. When handle 34 is pushed .down from the uppermost position, to bring stud 35 to the lower end of slot 38 the arc is tilted back to the positi 130- shown in Fig. 1, and link 24 pulls pawl 8 4 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 23,

and as after such engagement the cam can no longer move forward. the remaining tension of link 24 pulls the nose of pawl 7 slightly rearward, as shown in Fig. 1.

onsider the parts in the position shown in Fig. 3, the lever at the end of its downward swing and stud 35 at the upper end of slot .38. Now link 24 is standing at a small angle to the vertical, so that when lever 4 is swung upward the vertical translations of pivot centers 7 and 8 away from each other affect the link relatively much more than do the horizontal translations of these centers. Link member 26 is pulled downward away from link member that is pulled upward. so that the compressed spring 30 puts the'link 24 in tension. When the pivot of pawl 7 approaches the position 7 its lateral translation combines with the tension of link 24 to pull the nose of pawl-7 to the rear, out of engagement with the ratchet bar, which occurs just as lever 4 is completing its upward stroke. As the lever descends the upward and forward translation of the heel of pawl 7 carry its nose into engagement with the ratchet teeth by the time the lever has reached the horizontal. In this movement the link has been put slightly in compression, urging the pawl S rearwardly, but the main part of this rearward movement, which results in'carrying the nose of pawl 8 well to the rear of teeth 23, is due to the lateral and downward translation of pivot 8. At its upper end the cam-slot 38 has a curved seat 39 in its lower or inner edge. adapted to engage the stud 35 so that the latter cannot readily be pulled down from its uppermost position by the action of the operating lever 4 on its downward swing. assisted by gravity. For the same purpose a seat or loop 40 is bent at an appropriate height in a spring 41, made of :spring wire or of flat, leaf-spring material,

the foot of which is attached to the stud or pin 37, or may be secured in any suitable manner. to the outside of pawl 8. The spring 41 is preferably carried upward be tween the cam-plate and the side of the pawl and extends above the loop or seat 40, projecting beyond the outer and.upper edge of pawl 8, its end being curved to form ahead 42 adapted'to engage the inner surface of the upper. curved portion of the rear wallv 38 of Figs. 1 and 3, the end of each wire being left free in space, and near the upper end the inner wire 36 has bent into it a small loop 40 similar to the seating loop 40 in spring 41 of the main construction, and having the same function.

Another modified construction is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. In this case a camplate 36 is secured to the back of the upper and outer pawl 8 by an arm 36 projecting integrally from the side of curved plate 36" and near its lower end, and fastened by screws 36 to the back of the pawl. A camslot 38, is cut in plate 36, and extends parallel with and at a short distance from the side. of pawl S. A pawl-actuating link 24 has its outer member articulated to the inner and lower pawl 7 (not shown), and has a finger 34 extending through slot 38' and tern'iinating in a grip 34 projecting from the inner link member, as was described and illustrated in the main construction. The principal novel feature about this modification is the provision of a coiled spring 44 bearing against a concavely dished member or washer 43 which is in frictional engagement with the rear face of cam-plate 36*, the outer end of spring 44 bearing against a flat washer or disk 45 threaded over finger 34, the entire resilient construction bein held in place by two studs 43 and 43 projecting rectangularly from the sides of finger 34, the former bearing against the forward face of cam-plate 36, while the other bears against the outer face of washer 45. l

A third modification, illustrated in Fig. 9,

shows the pair of alternately acting pawls 7 and 8 with their pivots 7 and 8 adapted to be journaled inthe operating lever (not shown), as was shown and described in the .main construction. In this case a flat cama short distance from and parallel with the case projects beyond the cam-plate, passing through and being riveted to a toothed sector 47 pivoted to the cam-plate at 47. A

toothed sector 48 pivoted at its center 48' to cam-plate 46, meshes with sector 47, and serves to move stud 35 along the cam-slot 38 when operated by its handle 34" projecting radially from the sector 48.

In the fourth modification of the main construction of this invention illustrated in Fig. 10, the parts are practically the same as those illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, the difference being that the cam-plate is attached to the side of the inner and lower pawl 7 while the pawl-actuating link 34 is articulated to a lug 33 projecting from the side of the upper'and outer pawl'8. In this case the spring wi e 41 does not have a loop 40,

and to support the stud 35 at the upper end of its travel, a spring wire 41 is attached to the side of pawl 7 and projects upwardly along said side, between the inner face of the cam plate and the opposite face of finger 34.

I claim 1. In a lifting jack, the combination of a casing, a ratchet bar sliding therein, an operating lever fulcrumed in said casing and carrying articulated to it on opposite sides of its fulcrum a pair of alternately acting pawls, a pawl-actuating link comprising two link members interconnected to slide endwise upon each other, and having resilient means operatively connected with said members and acting upon each, an articulated connection between one of said link members and one of said pawls, guiding means attached to the second one of said pawls, guide-engaging means carried by the second one of said link members, cooperating with said articulated connection and said guiding means, to urge one of said pawls toward and the other away from said ratchet bar and to also cause said resilient means to urge both said pawls into operative engagement with said ratchet bar when said guideengaging means is moved toone end of said guiding means, and to cause all said urgings to be reversed in direction when said guideengaging means is moved to the opposite end of said guiding means, and manually operated means for changing the position ofsaid guide-engaging means along said guiding means.

2. In a lifting jack, the combination of a casing, a ratchet bar sliding therein, an operating lever fulcrumed in said casing and carryin' articulated to it on opposite sides of its fulcrum a pair of alternately acting awls, a pawl-actuating link comprising two link members interconnected to slide end-- wise upon each other, and having resilient means operatively connected with said mem bers and acting upon each, an articulated connection between one of said link members and one of said pawls, guiding means attached to the second one of said bawls, guide-engaging means carried by the second one of said link members, cooperating with said articulated connection and said guidi'ng means, to urge one of said pawls toward and the other away from said ratchet bar and to also cause said resilient means to urge both said pawls into operative engagcment with said ratchet bar when said guideengaging means is moved to one end of said guiding means, and to cause all said urgings to be reversed in direction when said guideengaging means is moved tothe opposite end of said guiding means, and means for releasably retaining said guide engaging means in position at both ends of said guidmg means.

3. In a lifting jack, the combination of a casing, a ratchet bar sliding therein, an operating lever fulcrumed in said casing and carrying articulated to it onopposite sides of its fulcrum a pair of alternately acting pawls, a pawl-actuating link comprising two link members interconnected to slide end-a wise upon each other, and having resilient means operativelyconnected with said members and acting upon each, an articulated connection betweemone of said link members and one of said pawls, uiding means attached to the second of saiifpawls, guide- 95 engaging means carried by the second one of said link members, cooperating with said articulated connection and said guiding means to urge one of said pawls toward and the other away from said ratchet bar and to also cause said resilient means to urge both of said pawls into operative engagement with said ratchet bar when said guide-engaging means is moved to one-end of said guiding means, and to cause all said urgrngs to be reversed in direction when said guideengaging means is moved to the opposlte end of said guiding means, and resilient means carried by said second pawl and cooperating with the inner surface of said cas- 0 ing for limiting the movement of said second pawl away from said ratchet bar.

4. In a lifting jack the comblnatlon of a casing, a ratchet bar sliding there 1n,an operating lever fulcrumed 1n said casing and carrying articulated to it on opposite sides of its fulcrum'a pair of alternately acting pawls, a pawl-actuating link comprislng two link members interconnected to s11de endwise upon each other, and having reslhent means operatively connected with sa d members and acting upon each, an articulated, operative connection between one of said link members and one of said pawls, guiding means attached to the second one of said pawls, guide-engaging means carried by the second one of said link members, cooperating with said articulated connection and said guiding means, to urge one'of said pawls toward and the other away from said ratchet bar and to also cause said resilient means to urge both said pawls into operative engagement with said ratchet bar when said guide-engaging means is moved to one end of said guiding means, and to cause all said urgings to be reversed in direction when said guide-engaging means is moved .to the opposite end of said guiding means, longitudinal guiding means projecting integrally from the sliding face of one of said link members into a longitudinal recess in the sliding face of the other one of said link members, and means carried by said link for retaining a lubricant.

5. In a lifting jack, the combination of a casing, a ratchet bar sliding therein, an operating leverfulcrumed in said casing and carrying articulated to it on opposite sides of its fulcrum a pair of alternately acting pawls one of which is placed above and outside of the other, a pawl-actuating link comprising two interfitting link members interconnected to slide endwise upon each other, a raised shoulder at each end of each of said members, a spring coiled about said two members with its ends engaged with said shoulders, a pair of longitudinal parallel ribs projecting from the sliding face of one of said members and fitting into a longitudinal slot in the corresponding face of the other member, a receptacle for a lubricant between said ribs closed at its lower and open at its upper end; a lug projecting integrally from the side of and inward from the lower and inner pawl, an ear projecting inte rally and offset from the inner one of sald link members, a pivot pin forming an articulated connection between said ear and said lug, a finger extending integrally from the outer one of said link members 1n continuation thereof, a cam-plate attached to one side of the upper and outer pawl and held ofl' from said side in parallelism therewith, a cam-slot in said plate curved away from said pivot pin, a stud projecting from the side of said finger into engagement with said cam-slot, the curvature of said cam-slot and its distance from said pivot pin being so proportioned that when said finger is moved to carry said stud to the upper end of said cam-slot said upper pawl is urged away from, and said lower pawl is urged toward said ratchet bar, an integral pro ection of said finger beyond said cam-slot, a curved seat opening from said cam-slot at its upper end and adapted to releasably retain said stud, a spring secured at its foot to the side of said upper pawl and extending upward between saidcam-plate and said finger, a loop in said spring adapted to yieldingly retain said stud in its extreme upper position, and an integral extension of said spring proj ectin-g beyond the upper end of said upper pawl and terminating in a curved head adapted to engage the inner surface of said casing.

WALTER B. TEMPLETON. 

